Mobile garbage can rack



Oct. 4, 1966 H. w. BLACK MOBILE GARBAGE CAN RACK Filed Aug. 5, 1964llllllll GlT L INVENTORS HERMAN W BLACK AND RICHARD WRIGHT 3,276,600MOBILE GARBAGE CAN RACK Herman W. Black, 138 N. Meridian St, Blackfoot,Idaho, and Richard R. Wright, 1566 Stanger Drive, Idaho Falls, IdahoFiled Aug. 3, 1964, Ser. No. 387,030 Claims. (Cl. 211-71) The purpose ofthe mobile garbage can rack as described herein is to provide. aconvenient, low cost, yet trim appearing device for supporting, storingand transporting a multiple number of garbage cans. The rack describedherein not only affords the usual advantages of preventing Wind orscavening animals from upsetting the cans, but also permits a multiplenumber of cans to be easily transported. This feature makes the rackvery useful for the typical home situation where the cans are stored andfilled in one location (such as adjacent to the rear entrance of thehouse) and periodically moved to. another location (such as the frontstreet curb) for pick-up of the garbage. When used in this manner, therack described herein affords numerous advantages over the conventionalmethod of using free standing cans or stationary racks.

An object of the invention is to protect against garbage spillage atboth the filling and the pick-up locations.

Another object is to prevent damage to cans and lids at both locations.Unsecured lids and empty cans are sometimes damaged or lost when blowninto the streets where they may be struck by passing trafiic. On thesubject rack, the lids are chained to the rack, not to the cans, and areavailable for use at both locations; but do not interfere when the canis removed for emptying.

Another object is to provide a convenient method of transporting amultiple number of cans to and from the garbage pick-up point withoutsoiling hands or clothes. The loaded rack can be manipulated with onlyone hand, and more than 60% of the load is carried by the wheels.

A further object is to provide a rack which is light Weight, easy tomanipulate, neat and trim in appearance, and economical to (fabricatesince the unique skeleton design reduces rack framework to a minimumwithout sacrificing strength and durability.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing,and it will be understood that changes may be made in the details ofconstruction and arrangement of parts shown and described withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention, as the preferred form hasbeen given by way of illustration only.

Referring to the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a composite side view with cans in place. The handle isshown in both the extended (solid lines) and folded (dashed lines)positions.

FIGURE 2 is a top view of the rack with cans removed to more clearlyshow the framework details.

FIGURE 3 is a vertical section on the line AA of FIGURE 2 with a can,shown in place.

FIGURE 4 is a vertical section on the line B-B of FIGURE 2.

The rack is fabricated mainly from standard steel pipe segments whichare welded into an integral unit. Basically, the rack has a skeletontype construction. Rather than an enclosing box type design as used onconventional can racks. This unique design is based on the concept thateach can may be adequately supported by a centering bar 5 or 7 whichfits inside the rim projecting down from the can bottom (as shown inFIGURE 3) and by a vertical support post 2, 3, or 4 United States Patent0 ice through each of the two handles of the can. The centering barrestrains the can bottom from moving laterally. The vertical supportposts through the can handles secure the upper portion of the canagainst both lateral and longitudinal motion while the lower end of theposts restrain the can bottom longitudinally. The horizontal centeringbars 5 and 7 and the vertical support posts 2, 3, and 4 are all attachedto. and supported by the horizontal main beam 1.

As shown in FIGURE 3, the front centering bar 5 also serves as the mainaxle for the front wheels 5c.

These wheels are attached by bolts 5b which act as shafts for the sleevebearings of the wheels and are screwed into the female threads of theaxle extension tubes 5a. The extension tubes 5a also serve to positionthe wheels 50 out from the ends of the centering bar 5 and thus provideclearance between the centering bar 5 and the wheels 5c for the canbottom rim.

The rear centering bar 7 also serves as the beam for the rear supportleg assembly. See FIGURE 4. The support legs 7a are attached to andsupported by this bar 7. The legs 7a project outward at an angle toprovide a -sufliciently wide stance at ground level for rack stabilityand are attached under the bar so as not to interfere with the canbottom rim'. Large washers, 7b attached to the lower end of the legs 7a,serve as feet to prevent the legs from sinking into soft earth when therack is loaded.

The handle 8 is designed to fold down to reduce the over-all length whenthe rack is stationary. When the rack is to be removed, the handle 8 isrotated upward until the upper side of the pipe on the hinge end of thehandle butts against the vertical post 4. This stops the handle in aposition where it can be used to raise the rear of the rack and topropel and guide it. The handle 8 is made sufficiently long so that whenextended .it will position the operator far enough away from the cart toprevent his feet from bumping the lower rear portion of the rack.

The vertical support posts 2, 3, and 4 position and support the cans byengaging the can handles. The intermediate support posts 3 are fittedwith a fork 3a to provide sufiicient hand clearance between the canswhen placing or removing the cans. The forks 3a also pro vide anindependent post for each can handle. If the handles of adjacent canswere overlapping on a single post (without a fork) the cans would lockeach other on and complicate removal and replacement of the cans.

Each can lid 10a is attached to the rack by a short length of chain 9which is secured at the rack end with a swivel to prevent chain wind-up.This arrangement prevents the lids from being blown away, or otherwiselost, yet permits the can to be emptied without interference from thelid.

We claim:

1. A mobile rack for garbage cans and similar containers comprising ahorizontal main frame member, a first upright post secured to andupwardly extending from the front end of said main frame member andadapted to pass through a side handle of said cans, a second uprightpost secured to and upwardly extending from the rear end of said mainframe member and adapted to pass through a side handle of said cans, athird upright post secured intermediate the ends of said main framemember and upwardly extending therefrom, said third upright post beingforked at an upper portion thereof to provide two upwardly extendingmembers each of which is adapted to pass through a side handle of saidcans and cooperate with said first and second upright posts to laterallyand transversely restrain said cans therebetween, a first horizontallydisposed transverse bar secured intermediate its ends to the upward sideof said main frame member intermediate said first and third uprightposts, a second horizontally disposed transverse bar securedintermediate its ends to the upward side of said main frame memberintermediate said second and third upright posts, said first and secondtransverse bars having a length adapted to fit within the recessedbottom of said cans thereby functioning to support and fully restrainsaid cans in cooperation with said upright posts, and said first andsecond transverse 'bars provided on the underside of the free endsthereof with supporting or wheel means.

2. The combination cited in claim 1, wherein the support means comprisesa leg inclined downwardly and outwardly from the under side of each freeend of the firs-t and second horizontally disposed transverse bars, andsaid legs having horizontally disposed fiat members secured to the freeends thereof providing sink-resisting feet.

3. The combination cited in claim 1 wherein the support and wheel meanscomprise legs inclined downwardly and outwardly from the underside ofthe free ends of the first horizontally disposed transverse bar, saidlegs having horizontally disposed flat members secured to the free endsthereof providing sink-resisting feet, and horizontally disposed axletubes secured to the underside of and parallel with the secondhorizontally disposed transverse bar, said axle tubes being securedadjacent to and projecting outwardly from the free ends of said secondtransverse bar, sai-d axle tubes having means for attaching wheels tothe free ends thereof.

4. The combination recited in claim 3 wherein the first upright postfurther includes a handle pivotally attached adjacent the upper end ofsaid first upright post, said handle rotatable from a downwardlydepending position to a substantially horizontal stopped position, saidhandle rotating coplanar to the first and second uprights.

5. The combination recited in claim 4 wherein the horizontal main framemember is lengthened in its central portion and additional forkedupright posts and horizontal transverse bars are secured to saidlengthened main frame member in locations suitable for accommodatingadditional cans.

References Cited by the Examiner CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner.

1. A MOBILE RACK FOR GARBAGE CANS AND SIMILAR CONTAINERS COMPRISING AHORIZONTAL MAIN FRAME MEMBER, A FIRST UPRIGHT POST SECURED TO ANDUPWARDLY EXTENDING FROM THE FRONT END OF SAID MAIN FRAME MEMBER ANDADAPTED TO PASS THROUGH A SIDE HANDLE OF SAID CANS, A SECOND UPRIGHTPOST SECURED TO AND UPWARDLY EXTENDING FROM THE REAR END OF SAID MAINFRAME MEMBER AND ADAPTED TO PASS THROUGH A SIDE HANDLE OF SAID CANS, ATHIRD UPRIGHT POST SECURED INTERMEDIATE THE ENDS OF SAID MAIN FRAMEMEMBER AND UPWARDY EXTENDING THEREFROM, SAID THIRD UPRIGHT POST BEINGFORKED AT AN UPPER PORTION THEREOF TO PROVIDE TWO UPWARDLY EXTENDINGMEMBERS EACH TO PROVIDE TWO UPWARDLY EXTENDING MEMBERS OF SAID CANS ANDCOOPERATE WITH SAID FIRST AND SECOND UPRIGHT POSTS TO LATERALLY ANDTRANSVERSELY RESTRAIN SAID CANS THEREBETWEEN, A FIRST HORIZONTALLYDISPOSED TRANSVERSE BAR SECURED INTERMEDIATE ITS ENDS TO THE UPWARD SIDEOF SAID MAIN FRAME MEMBER INTERMEDIATE SAID FIRST AND THIRD UPRIGHTPOSTS, A SECOND HORIZONTALLY DISPOSED TRANSVERSE BAR SECUREDINTERMEDIATE ITS ENDS TO THE UPWARD SIDE OF SAID MAIN FRAME MEMBERINTERMEDIATE SAID SECOND AND THIRD UPRIGHT POSTS, SAID FIRST AND SECONDTRANSVERSE BARS HAVING A LENGTH ADAPTED TO FIT WITHIN THE RECESSEDBOTTOM OF SAID CANS THEREBY FUNCTIONING TO SUPPORT AND FULLY RESTRAINSAID CANS IN COOPERATION WITH SAID UPRIGHT POSTS, AND SAID FIRST ANDSECOND TRANSVERSE BARS PROVIDED ON THE UNDERSIDE OF THE FREE ENDSTHEREOF WITH SUPPORTING OR WHEEL MEANS.